This invention relates to the polishing art and has particular relationship to a polishing tool in the form of a wheel or annulus having packs or groups or pluralities or groups of leaves or flaps of polishing material extending from a central annular core. The word polishing is intended to encompass within its scope not only polishing but all types of surface treatment of work including brushing, abrasing, buffing, burnishing or coloring, and finishing. In the use of the polishing tool with which this invention concerns itself, the work is held firmly in engagement with the outer periphery of the leaves while the tool is rotated and the leaves react with the surface of the work in the desired manner.
As evidenced by the great number of patents which have been granted on the above-described tool, numerous attempts have for many years been made to provide a satisfactory tool of this type. The tools which have resulted from this effort have important disadvantages.
In accordance with, and typical of, this prior art teaching the packs of leaves pivot about the edge of a groove as do the packs 11 (FIG. 1) of Cosmos Ser. No. 2,871,632 or about a pin or hinge as do the packs 36 (FIG. 2) or 76 (FIG. 6) of Belanger U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,118. In either case the rigidity of the pivoting action does not permit the leaves to adjust or adapt themselves positionally to the work in the manner desired. In addition, in tools such as is disclosed by Cosmos, the leaves of each pack slide relative to each other and abrasive coatings of the leaves below the outer leaf are worn. The tools operate in an atmosphere of abrasive dust and the pins and hinges of such tools as are disclosed by Belanger become covered with the abrasive and stick or are otherwise deteriorated. Tools such as Belanger's are also of excessive weight because of their large number of pins which are composed of metal.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a polishing tool which includes a hub from whose periphery an annulus of packs of polishing leaves extend and, in the use of which tool the leaves shall adjust or adapt themselves positionally to the work being polished. It is also an object of this invention to provide such a tool of relatively light weight whose leaves shall not pivot about pins or hinges and in the use of which the leaves of the various packs shall not slide relative to each other. It is also an object of this invention to provide a method of making a tool for polishing work that shall not suffer from the disadvantages of the prior art. It is further an object of this invention to provide packs of leaves for the above-described polishing tool.